


And way down we go.

by SobbingInACorner



Series: To Infinity (War) and Beyond [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Asphyxiation, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Trailer, BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF Tony Stark, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Character Death, Character Study, Everyone Needs A Hug, Father-Son Relationship, Feels, Gen, Hurt Peter, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, I Blame Tumblr, I Made Myself Cry, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Maybe - Freeform, Not Happy, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Sad with a Happy Ending, Tags Are Hard, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Worried Tony Stark, almost, he's trying, let him rest, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-03-22 18:04:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13769589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SobbingInACorner/pseuds/SobbingInACorner
Summary: The air was growing thinner.Ok so this is a story I based off a couple of shots in the two trailers, most importantly the one of my boy ALMOST IN SPACE AND TAKING OFF HIS MASK LEAVE MY SON ALONENot a prediction, just something I wanted to write - btw, I hurt the things I love ahahaha





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Guess I’m writing Marvel fics now!  
> Was only a matter of time – Marvel is a truly special part of my life and I could only hold out on writing about the Infinity War Superbowl trailer for so long  
> Because I swear to all things holy if my boy doesn’t get his spandex-clad ass off that spaceship and back on Earth I’m gonna be throwing some hands
> 
> Here goes nothing!

_Oh, father tell me,_

_We get what we deserve._

 

Peter started to realize this was a mistake about 30,000 metres up. As he clung to the colossal ship/transporter/crazy alien thing, he risked a glimpse down at New York below him. The city was alight, swarming with screaming civilians and screeching, monstrous... things. The big grey alien that had come off that ship with Thor – Drags? Dracks? – had called them ‘Outriders’: harbingers of death and destruction, serving the most evil being in all the cosmos. Fun times. But occasionally, amidst the chaos, a spark of red light would appear, or the icy blue flare of a repulsor blast. Darting figures sprinted into the battle, where creatures fell one by one. The battle wasn’t lost yet, and they didn’t plan on losing it. As Peter stared at the war below him, he caught a flash of yellow, and recognised with a jolt the school bus he had been on when the spaceship arrived.

 

**4 hours earlier**

 

“I can’t believe we're going to see the Statue of Liberty for our field trip. We’ve all seen it! _We live in New York!”_ Ned groaned.

Michelle leant over the back of her seat to smirk at him. “But this is the one landmark we've seen this year that wasn’t built by slaves. It was actually designed by two French abolitionists to honour America's abolition of slavery and instigation of Civil Rights.”

“Ok, first of all, we know MJ – you told us. Twice. And second of all, we've only been to one other landmark this year, and it kinda almost blew up too.”

“Yeah, that Spider dude saved a monument built by slaves! Whoopee!”

“And he saved us!” retorted Ned indignantly.

“Joking,” she grinned, punching him on the shoulder.

Peter sighed. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, as the raucous chatter around them filled the bus. Peter's phone pinged. Again. Then again.

_Tony - 10:43_   
_Kid, get your stuff._

_Tony – 10:43_   
_It's ‘retreat’ time._

_Tony – 10:43_   
_Right. Now._

The hairs on his arms stood straight up, and the most horrible feeling flooded his mind. Danger was coming, danger so big and bad that nothing would stop it. The bus stopped. He twisted to look out of the window, scanning the skyline for this danger and –

He saw it.

A gigantic ship, strangely circular. Spinning rims lined its inside, and the sun caught the burnished metal sides as it descended on New York. It looked like a gear from an old grandfather clock, if old grandfather clocks were huge, futuristic and from space. The rest of the class crowded to the windows, and as the first shrieks from people in the city began to echo, and frantic sirens wailed, Peter was reminded of the Battle of Manhattan 9 years ago. He was 7 when it happened. He and May had sheltered under a table with the TV on the news channel. They had eaten chocolate, and they had cried, and she had held his hand until the screams outside stopped. Now it was happening again.

Tony had asked him to help stop it.

“Ned, I -”

“Go! I’ll cover for you! Most people are leaving anyways,” Ned interrupted.

Michelle simply sat in her seat and stared, almost entranced, at the alien ship.

“It hasn’t attacked yet has it? Maybe these ones are friendly.”

Peter shrugged, and made his way down the bus aisle. He turned at the door.

“Bye, Ned.”

Ned stood in the aisle, barely able to contain his fear, for himself, his family, but most imminently his friend. “Good luck Peter.”

Then he hopped down to the steps, and began to sprint across the bridge to New York.

_Tony – 10:45_   
_You coming Peter?_

_Meeeee – 10:46_   
_Yes Mr Stark, running to Manhattan rn_

_Tony – 10:46_   
_You're running? Doesn’t matter – 177A Bleecker St. Be there._

_Meeeee – 10:47_   
_Will do Mr Stark_

When Peter showed up, Mr Stark was standing outside. The area was deserted – abandoned newspapers blew through the urban desolation, and bicycles lay discarded on the sidewalks. The shadow of the ship was directly above them. The sky was grey metal.

Mr Stark waved. A suitcase (not unlike the one that Peter had first been given his own suit in) stood by his feet. 

“Hey spiderling! Welcome to the end of the world. Come on in!”

The lobby of the house was destroyed. In fact, most of the area was destroyed. Wreckage from buildings littered the road; hard hats from construction workers decorated the mounds of rubble. 177A Bleecker St wasn’t in much better of a shape. The polished wooden floors were tarnished and scratched, and several floors possessed a large hole, skeletal remains of floorboards left sticking into the open space like broken ribs. The chain of holes ended in a large crater in the middle of the staircase, where most of the debris had gathered. It looked like someone, something, had fallen from the sky and crashed into this very building.

“What... happened?” faltered Peter as they stepped into the house.

“Oh, nothing much. Code green.”

“What?”

“Inside joke.”

There were three men waiting at the foot of the staircase. Two of them were draped in dark robes, one also wearing a crimson cloak. The other looked dishevelled, dressed in a worn suit that was slightly too large. He stood nervously, looking out of place amongst the well assured men (monks? They looked like monks) stood beside him.

“Peter,” started Mr Stark, striding forward, “I’d like to introduce you to my old friend Doctor Bruce Banner, and newer friends Doctor Stephen Strange and Wong...”

“It's just Wong,” the shorter monk dude stated.

_Wow._

“Uh, it’s uh, an a-amazing, uh, opportunity to meet you finally, um, sirs.”

_Nailed it._

Doctor Banner stepped forward and held out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Peter – I only wish we could do so under better circumstances.”

_Bruce Banner just shook my hand._

“Uh, l-likewise,” he stammered.

Mr Stark clapped his hand onto Peter's shoulder, saving him from descending into a state of complete shutdown. 

“Right, I’m sure you’d all love to fangirl about each other but right now there’s a hostile alien ship hovering over New York and Peter's the only backup that's coming at the moment.”

“Um, Mr Stark, are you sure that it's hostile?”

“Kid, when is it _not_ hostile?”

“Touché.”

“Anyway, I called you here instead of telling you to suit up on the bridge for one reason.”

He nudged the chrome suitcase forward with one foot. 

“Open it kid.”

Peter inched towards the suitcase warily. Mr Stark rolled his eyes.

“It’s not gonna kill you Peter, just open it quick – the world is ending.”

Peter dropped to his knees and pressed a fumbling hand to the lock button on the case. It immediately sprang open to reveal his suit, but _different_. It was the one Tony had offered him at the Avengers’ compound – the ‘Iron Spider'. The deeper blue fabric seemed to shine with electricity, and the golden spider on the chest glowed in the sunlight filtering through the roof. The eyes shone a bright white, but a strip of neon blue tinged the edges. _Like lightsabers,_ thought Peter, unable to hide the grin on his face.

“Is this... for me, Mr Stark?”

The older man smirked. “I doubt it’ll fit me kid.”

A sudden explosion cut through the content silence, distant but auditory. The rumble of the blast filled Peter’s head, followed quickly by the screams of terrified civilians.

Mr Stark’s face hardened.

“No time for chat.” 

He turned to face the rest of the room.

“Suit up.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter was shocked from his reverie by a familiar voice in his ear.  
> “Kid! Report in! You there? Peter!”  
> Tony sounded frantic. Peter could hear the distant sounds of a war raging around him through the comm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I was warming up with the first chapter, even threw some humour in  
> Prepare for about one or two lines of humour in the entirety of the rest of the story   
> Instead expect angst, feels, lots of hurt, more angst and exasperated almost-dad Tony #lethimrest  
> Let's go!

Peter was shocked from his reverie by a familiar voice in his ear.

“Kid! Report in! You there? _Peter!”_

Tony sounded frantic. Peter could hear the distant sounds of a war raging around him through the comm. 

“Yeah, I'm here.”

A red warning flashed into view. _40,000 metres._

“Where the hell is _here?_ I can’t see you anywhere!”

_Oh god._

“I, uh, kinda, hitched a ride. On the ship. Or transporter. The b-big spinny thing. And I think it's going to space.”

“You need to get down, right now.” Tony's voice was grim, tinged with panic.

_45,000 metres._

The air was growing thinner.

Peter crawled sluggishly up the slanting walls of the ship. The cold seeped into his limbs, sapping his strength and dulling his senses. He wondered vaguely how he would escape. If he would escape.

“I c-can’t Mr Stark. My parachute was destroyed fighting one of th-those ‘Outrider’ things.” Now Peter was starting to lose his nerve. His outward displays of bravado in front of his role model and mentor were stripped away by the rushing wind, revealing what he truly was. A scared 16 year old boy. A boy afraid to die.

_50,000 metres._

_“Peter!”_

Maybe he could spin a web. Thread by thread, all the way down to earth. 50,000 metres down to earth. He doubted it. He remembered the time Ned had helped him test the distance he could spin his webs. They had followed his suggestion that one time in history class – Peter crawled up to the top of a nearby set of flats and just shot his webs, far as they could go. Then he tried swinging from them. And when they turned up at Michelle's apartment for dinner later that night, and Peter had bruised knees and scraped elbows, she didn’t question it. They lounged on the carpet, eating takeaway Chinese and watching Star Wars: A New Hope (Michelle hadn’t seen it yet).

It was then he realised. _I am going to die._ There was no way he would get down to Earth. It was too late for Mr Stark to fetch him. Even if it wasn't, his mentor simply couldn’t afford to leave the battle on Earth. He would play a crucial part in defeating Thanos. Peter? He would die, stranded on a rising spacecraft. Helpless. He couldn’t walk into it with a brave smile on his face. He was terrified. Terrified to leave his life, his friends, his family. Ned, Michelle, Aunt May, Mr Stark, even Happy. All his new friends, all his new allies in the Avengers. He was 16. He still had so much of his life left. But he had been bitten by that spider and everything had changed. 

_55,000 metres._

It was so cold.

Thinking about it now, he was glad. He had _saved lives._ He had grown up to become the hero he always wanted, and lived a life that few could even dream of. A tear traced its way down his pale face. It just wasn’t fair. 

“Peter! Where are you? Maybe I could fly up and – you – just -– Natasha – hang --- ok?” He was losing signal. There wasn’t enough time.

“T-tony?”

“---”

_60,000 metres._

“If you c-can hear me, I’m sorry. I, uh, wish I could have spent more time b-being a hero with you. I, uh, I guess sometimes life d-doesn’t work out the way you p-planned.”

Nothing but the silence and the closing sky.

It was breathtaking.

“Goodbye Tony, and, uh, th-thank you.” The tears fell freely now.

_“—eter!”_

Peter ripped off his mask. He wanted to see the stars with his own eyes. The air screamed in his ears, rippling through his hair. The cold bit at his body, slowly numbing. The stars were beautiful. He wondered if he'd join them. The last hues of azure ebbed away to meet the inky black of space, pinpricked with thousands, millions of tiny lights. The tears rolling down his face began to freeze. Tracks of frost traced constellations on his face.

And as he felt the breath leave his lungs, the life leave his body, as tiny webs of ice grew across his bare skin, he was calm.

There was only silence, and the depths of the universe, greeting him with open arms.

And as he fell back, from the cursed ship and into azure, the stars faded, followed by the sky.

Everything was black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH NO CLIFFHANGER  
> I hurt the things I love  
> I’m so sorry, I promise I haven’t killed him (OR HAVE I), I just wanted to write this scene, and how peter might accept his sacrifice in the war should it come to pass  
> This better not happen in the movie or the Russo brothers gonna catch these hands


	3. Time has come as we all go down.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY's calm voice was sanctuary in the silence, an anchor to ground him to reality while all he could think was too late, too late.
> 
> Too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted in a while school's been kicking my ass  
> I promise I haven’t killed him  
> Get ready for feelings though hehe  
> I’m a terrible person

“Goodb----ony—and-”

Static.

“FRIDAY, deploy Iron Spider suit, lock onto Spidersuit Mark 2.” Tony's voice shook.

FRIDAY's calm voice was sanctuary in the silence, an anchor to ground him to reality while all he could think was _too late, too late._

“Locked on sir. Deploying.”

A metallic blur raced past him, climbing towards the miniscule shape in the sky. Towards the dot that fell from it, the dot that as Tony neared became a figure. A boy, plummeting to Earth. The blur hit the figure and enveloped it, folding outwards to become the Iron Spider suit. A suit with a parachute.

“FRIDAY, deploy parachute.”

Peter tumbled through the sky. _Too late._

“Deploying. Sir, at this height, a parachute might not be enough to slow the fall,” added the AI, concern evident in her voice.

Tony dived to follow. Suddenly, a white chute, emblazoned with Spiderman's logo, billowed from the back of the Iron Spider suit. In the few seconds that it suspended his fall, Peter hung limp from the cords holding him. Then he hit the ground hard, and crumpled in an unresponsive heap.

As Tony raced towards the broken figure on the ground, all he could think was _too late._

 

**2 hours earlier**

 

He turned to face the rest of the room.

“Suit up.”

Then the wall exploded. Tony fell to the floor, ears ringing. An eerie silence accompanied the chaos around him – muffled yells as Strange and Wong ran to meet the aliens charging through the walls, huge, four-armed aliens, as Banner writhed at the foot of the stairs, green invading his veins. As Peter left the suitcase, shrugging off his jacket to reveal his first Stark suit underneath. The Iron Spider would have to wait for later. The Iron Man suit formed around Tony in a split second, and he charged forward.

When the battle reached its peak, Peter was nowhere. Tony grunted, sending an alien flying backwards with a blast. 

“Hey kid? Peter? You there?”

Silence. The comm was off.

“Anyone seen Peter?”

Starlord's voice filled his helmet. “I’m like, three feet away from you Stark.”

“Other Peter! The skinny kid in the spider suit!”

Now another alien, the literal one. Drags? “The man of spiders is not in my sight.”

“I saw him about 10 minutes ago closest to the ship,” stated Wanda, tearing an Outrider in two. “Haven’t seen him since.”

Icy fear gripped Tony's heart. “Kid! Report in! You there? _Peter!”_

A breath.

“Yeah, I'm here.”

_Thank god._

“Where the hell is _here?_ I can’t see you anywhere!”

“I, uh, kinda, hitched a ride. On the ship. Or transporter. The b-big spinny thing. And I think it's going to space.”

_He was still wearing the old suit._ The old suit that didn’t have an updated mask, a mask with an inbuilt oxygen system, vacuum seal and emergency backup power. Just a basic interface and tear resistant fabric. He couldn’t be on that ship. 

He wouldn’t survive.

“You need to get down, right now.”

“I c-can’t Mr Stark. My parachute was destroyed fighting one of th-those ‘Outrider’ things.” 

FRIDAY's voice cut in. “Sir, the Spiderman suit has climbed to a height of 50,000 metres.”

_“Peter!”_

 

**4 minutes and 27 seconds later**

 

He reached Peter. A crumpled figure, parachute tangled next to him. He was still. Tony sank to his knees beside his protégé and ripped off the mask. The boy's face was grey, coated with ice. His eyes were open. Wide open. Staring in wonder at stars they could not see. Tony closed them; they looked unnatural. Cold and empty. Peter's were full of light and laughter – he wanted his Peter back.

“Friday, run vitals.”

“Body temperature dangerously low, oxygen deprived. Sir... I'm detecting no pulse.”

_no._

_no no no no no no no._

Hands reached Peter's chest, Tony's hands, and they pumped, 1, 2, 3, 4, over and over and over and over. _Peter please, please don’t go, you can’t leave us, not now. What about Aunt May? Your friends, Ned and who was that girl? Michelle? Don’t go please you can’t leave them you can’t leave **me**._

And now hands were pulling at Tony, taking him away, away from Peter, and why were they, he could save him _he could save him **he needed to save him.**_

“Tony-”

“Let me _go!_ I can save him, I need to save him! _Peter!”_

And Wanda was beside him, and Stephen, and Clint, and they were taking him from Peter. And there were tears streaming down Wanda's face and Clint's was set in stone, and Stephen was shaking his head. Why had they given up?

“Let me go! Peter! _Peter!_ Get off, I need to.. I have to.. I can’t leave him.” And now tears threatened to spill from Tony's own eyes and grasping fingers reached for the body on the ground and everyone was there and the world has stopped and why had it stopped there needed to be action movement decision to save Peter to help Peter he couldn’t leave Peter and

“Tony.”

Clint.

“Look at me Tony. I’m sorry. But he’s gone.”

_No. He wasn’t. He wouldn’t let him be._

Tony screamed. The sound echoed across the battlefield, anguish rent free in a howl of pain, of pure anguish because Peter couldn’t be gone, he was Spiderman, he was his protégé, student, apprentice, he was his friend, he was practically his son –

“Sir, I’m detecting life signs.”

_Life signs._

The gathered heroes stared in amazement as the youngest among them stirred. The ice on his face cracked and melted as Peter winced, attempting to sit up. Tony froze, eyes still red and raw with grief.

_Peter._

He rushed forward, pushing the boy back down gently. The impossibility of the situation made him want to laugh. Peter was alive.

“Kid, next time you decide to follow in my footsteps and more or less die in space, make sure to wear a better suit,” Tony grinned.

Peter smiled tiredly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The other heroes gradually returned to the battle. It was peaceful for a while. Then his protégé turned to Tony, sorrow evident in his eyes.

“Tony?”

“Yeah kid?”

Peter's voice cracked. “I thought I was gonna die. I thought I was, then I accepted it. But I didn’t want to. Not really. I was _so scared Tony -”_ he broke off, fresh tears welling. Tony didn’t hesitate before pulling the boy into a tight hug, gripping as if he would never let go.

“Peter. Listen to me. It was no one’s fault that this happened, just an unfortunate number of coincidences. That’s how the whole universe works. But I promise you, as long as I live and breath, I will not let anyone hurt you. Not a single person. You are my friend, my student, heck, you’re my son. I love you Peter. And if something or someone does manage to get to you, well. We’re not called the Avengers for nothing.”

Peter nodded soundlessly. Then he groaned in pain, sinking awkwardly to the floor.

“Sir, although Mr Parker is out of imminent danger, medical treatment is still advised for additional injuries and symptoms.”

Tony had to return to the battle. The war cries fading in around him had not gone unnoticed. But he could wait another ten minutes.

“Peter, I’m gonna take you to a safe place now. No more fighting.”

“But I can still fight Mr Stark! I can still... still help..” he panted, clutching his side. There was his Peter – desperate for action, no matter what the circumstances.

“Just rest for now kid.”

The boy frowned. 

“Promise you’ll be here?”

“I promise.”

And Peter Parker drifted off into an easy sleep. Tony picked him up gently, then spoke into the comms.

“Back soon, just going to drop off Boy Wonder here at the nearest med station.”

“Is the kid ok?” asked Starlord. “I can’t have Small Peter dying on us, we haven’t finished our bet yet. Most kills – I have 79!”

Tony smirked. “He’s ok. You can worry about your bet later, focus on beating purple raisin face's army into pulp for now.”

And he flew his kid away from the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaay he's ok  
> I said I wouldn't kill him ok guys dw  
> Who do you think gonna win the bet  
> Also if y’all have any prompts or ideas you'd like to see please comment I need ideas ;)


	4. 'Cause they will run you down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From what he heard over the comms, the rest of the team weren't faring much better. His words to Loki all those years ago echoed round his head.
> 
> If we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it. 
> 
> He wasn’t sure if they’d even be able to do that this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya girl is back, late again  
> I swear this is all good stuff now I can’t hurt my boy anymore  
> OR CAN I?  
> No I can’t jk

Peter woke in an unfamiliar room. Everything was steel and white, sterile. Cold. He was laying on a cot, draped in a thin blanket. An IV line ran into his wrist, and monitors beeped softly in the background. The room was empty.

_He promised he'd be here._

Peter sat up, albeit a little shakily. He would be fine in a couple of minutes. Spider super-healing and all that. He looked down to see he was still in the suit. Tony had saved him with that suit. But he wasn’t here. Peter was going to have to repay the favour.  
He yanked the line from his wrist, wincing slightly, then made his way towards the door.

  
Tony stared in horror as the Hulk went down under a sea of aliens. Gamora cried out in pain as a claw raked her side, and Starlord sprinted towards her. Drax (definitely Drax) was on the dusty ground, eyes closed. Clint was scrounging for arrows. From what he heard over the comms, the rest of the team weren't faring much better. His words to Loki all those years ago echoed round his head.

_If we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it._

He wasn’t sure if they’d even be able to do that this time. 

An Outrider bounded towards him, letting loose an unearthly shriek. A scrap of tattered fabric hung from its teeth, stained a deep red. Tony didn’t know who it was from. He didn’t want to. He fired a blast and the alien's body skidded to a stop at his feet. 

Suddenly, amber sparks filled the air next to him. A circular portal erupted from them, revealing Doctor Strange crouched warily behind the wreckage of a car. He stepped through the portal and it closed behind him.

“What brings you to the party, good doctor?” quipped Tony.

The sorcerer opened his mouth to answer, but his eyes widened as he registered something behind Tony. Swiftly, he cast a spell, sending the creature previously looming over Tony flying backwards.

“Nothing much,” he replied, panting. “I was in the neighbourhood, thought I’d stop by.”

“Starlord’s bet is officially extended to everyone, how many have you killed?”

“200, give or take.”

“257.”

“Nice.”

“From what I've heard, Steve's team in Wakanda have a whole army to take on, so he'll probably win.”

“Not if we don’t tell him.”

“I like the way you think.”

“283!” came a breathless voice over the comms. A suspiciously young voice...

“Peter Parker, if I find that you have taken one step out of the med station I left you half-dead in, I swear on my almost wife's company I will take away that suit for the rest of your life.”

Peter gulped. “Define one step.”

A red and blue clad figure swung towards them. 

“The man of spiders lives!” declared Drax joyously, apparently still alive.

As Peter landed in front of them, even Tony couldn’t hide his grin.

“I'm glad you're okay kid.”

“Me too Mr Stark, me too,” replied the boy.

“But if you pull that shit again, I’m telling Aunt May and rest assured she will _murder you_.”

“Duly noted.”

Distant shrieks echoed through the ruins as a new wave of aliens came hurtling towards them. All around them, heroes readied themselves for battle. 

“What did you say you'd got, Small Peter?” joked Starlord.

“283,” replied Peter.

“Damn.”

“I can beat that easily,” Tony teased.

Peter snorted. “You wish!”

And father and son charged into the war, side by side.

 

**After the battle**

 

They were gone. They were breathless, lifeless corpses, mangled in a pool of blood on the cold, cold ground. Bright eyes dulled, promise of peace slipped from a feeble grip. If he stared, all he could see was the dark plumes of smoke rising from the city, remnants of a war long past. And if he closed his eyes, found even one moment of silence, it was invaded by their voices, their sorrows, bloodied hands grasping at a chance for life, to laugh with the victors, to revel in the aftermath of a war. But war had casualties.

They were the price to pay.

Steps behind him. Peter. The boy walked over to him, fresh clothes but old, old eyes. Filled with the recognition of death, carnage echoing in his mind. He was too young for war.

A hand rested on his shoulder.

“It wasn’t your fault.” 

He could’ve saved them. Drax, Bruce, Clint. Natasha, Vision, Thor. 

Steve.

“I could've saved them.”

Peter’s voice broke, choked with anguish. “They were my heroes, Tony. I watched them d- they’re gone. But they knew what they were doing. They fought to save the Earth, everything they stood for. They knew the risks, and accepted them. They di... They died, knowing they had saved innocent lives. Steve _smiled.”_

Tony remembered that. He had wanted to see Peggy again.

“There was nothing you could have done.”

“It’s my _job_. I’m a superhero, I save people for a living, but I _couldn't save them.”_

“You saved me.”

There was quiet.

“Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

Peter frowned. “What for?”

“I should never have recruited you. You should have stayed a friendly, neighbourhood Spiderman. But you came to fight, and now you fought again, and I nearly _lost you -”_

Tears ran down his face. Peter shuffled his feet awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Tony dried his eyes with his sleeve, then pulled Peter into a tight hug.

“I promise, nothing will ever happen to you Peter. Ever. I will protect you for as long as I am able.”

 

_Even if it kills me._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha wHoOpS  
> Might do a little extra, like an end credits scene? Who won the bet ooh  
> Thanks for reading!


	5. +

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How many did you kill?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah I almost forgot this existed  
> In response to a comment I received, here's a post-credits! And a tiny bit more feels stuff yay

Starlord grinned as Peter drew nearer. "Hey Smaller Peter! We never did finish that bet - how many d'you kill? I reckon I finished off a good 200."

 

 

_Kill._

 

 

Navy jumper stained with regret as sirens wailed and his aunt sobbed into his sleeve.

A threat in a car as a gun glinted in traffic lights.

Blue on the ground as red and gold screamed into the rain.

 

 

"463."

 

 

_I don't kill._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He doesn't kill :):):):):):):)

**Author's Note:**

> That was a nice little start - gonna be real sad from here on out :):):):)  
> Drop a review or any prompts down below!


End file.
